“Yeah, right. This is a bar,” Edwin growled at me. “It’s not a place for sick people who need to rest.”
“I use a wheelchair, I don’t hate fun,” I snapped. Beside me, Oberi gave a wicked growl.
“Well, you’re inconveniencing other people, so get lost,” Edwin snapped.
I opened my mouth to say something else, but before I could, Edwin put his hands on the back of my chair andmoved me out of the way.
I was shocked, and scared. There wasn’t like I could do anything to stop it, either. I was totally helpless.
Back off, baldy! Oberi flashed his teeth, then sank his fangs into Edwin’s leg. He didn’t let go, either. Edwin tried shaking Oberi off, but he wouldn’t let go.
“Oberi, down!” I grabbed his scruff and yanked him back. He came away with some of Edwin’s pant leg.
Kallie looked positively murderous. “Fuck you, asshole! You asked for it!”
Kallie pulled her fist back to deck Edwin in the face, but I caught her arm.
“Kallie, don’t. It’s not worth it,” I said quietly.
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Edwin took his chance to limp off, clutching his bleeding leg. Brianna sent me a glare as she helped him hobble out of the club.
I shook as I remembered how casually he’d moved me out of the way. Ihatedit. My wheelchair was a tool I used to get around, but it was also an extension of my body, and that jerk had touched it without permission.
“What’s wrong with you? Did you get a personality transplant while they were sewing you back up?” Kallie questioned. “I was expecting you to rip Edwin a new asshole.”
My mouth ran dry. Yeah, that was me. Theoldme.
I wasn’t that person anymore.
I convinced Kallie to let it go, though she shot the loser and his girlfriend the finger as we moved off the dance floor.
My thoughts were dark as the bass thrummed around me. People thought that I had to be in pain all the time because I used a wheelchair. And yeah, I was in pain a lot, because I was recovering from surgery. But that pain was getting better every day, and soon, I’d feel better. Why couldn’t I have fun at a party like everyone else could?
“Are you okay?” Kallie asked, looking concerned.
I tried to keep my voice steady as I said, “I just want to go home.”
Kallie’s face fell, but she nodded and wheeled me off the dance floor. “Okay. I was getting bored, anyway. Do you need to use the bathroom?”
I shook my head, and Kallie said, “Well, I have to go. I’ll be right back.”
Kallie ducked into the club’s restroom. The second she was gone, I sniffed and wiped my nose with the back of my hand. The Devil’s Playground used to be one of my favorite places, but I no longer felt like I belonged here. At this point, I just wanted to go back to my cell. Oberi laid his head on my lap, licking my fingers to try and cheer me up.
“Ava!” Ivy came storming out of the crowd, a neon pink purse dangling off his shoulder. He stopped before me and grabbed my hands. “I heard what those dickwads did to you. My security team is handling it, don’t you worry.”
I couldn’t help it. My lip started to tremble. “I can’t do anything I used to, Ivy.”
“Sure you can! I saw you. You were having a blast before those pricks opened their fat mouths,” Ivy protested. “Why didn’t you tell them off? That’s the Ava I know and love.”
“You don’t understand. I’ve…changedsince I’ve come back.” I put my head in my hands. “I don’t want tobethat ugly girl I was, who was mean and cruel. I just want to be a good person."
"You ain't a good person. You don't wanna be! Trying to save other people is what got you put in that chair!” Ivy insisted. “You keep giving up parts of yourself to other people, there's gonna be nothing left! You gotta give what you have toyourself.”
“I don’t know if I can do that anymore, Ivy.”
Ivy shook my shoulders. "You listen to me. Don't ever let nobody stop you from doing what you wanna do, you hear? Not Charlie, or Oberi, or even me! You be the biggest scumbag that's ever walked this earth, because that's what's gonna keep you alive out there. I'm not losing you again, Ava. None of us are. As for the rest of the world… fuck ‘em. Fuck ‘em all."
Ivy began digging in his bag. “Andspeakingof fucking, I have a little toy you and your husband may want to share.”
